Former astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton dies

NASA says former space shuttle astronaut and test pilot C. Gordon Fullerton has died at age 76.

A NASA statement says Fullerton died Wednesday after spending most of the past 3 ½ years in a care facility in Lancaster, Calif., following a 2009 stroke.

Fullerton spent 382 hours in space on two space shuttle missions during his career as an astronaut from 1969 to 1986. He was also a member of one of two crews that flew the shuttle prototype Enterprise on approach and landing tests in 1977.

Fullerton later spent 22 years as a test pilot on projects at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

The Portland, Ore., native joined the Air Force in 1958 and flew fighters and bombers before becoming a test pilot.